RE: SOTW: Mercedes E300 Turbodiesel
Discussion
CDP said:
TiMopar said:
I have just bought a 98 c240 estate with the strandard falling off paint around the wheelarches for £800. Whether that was wise remains to be seen, but what amazes me is that none of the prior owners were willing or able to do anything about it. Are Merc owners just not 'hands on' people?
My Vectra's got a couple of scuffs. No point in spending the money fixing a car that I'm going to get rid of for a few hundred. I've found metallic paint too difficult to do myself.Ok, this is a bit strange as i was searching for one of these just a few days ago. I do actually quite fancey one as a motorway crusier as have family some 330 miles away & want to keep the miles off the range rover.
Ideally i want a blue estate with five spoke wheels for under a grand with no rust and less that 140k miles!!
Love the sound the merc six pot makes, i am a bit of a diesel geek at heart and love the rumble a six pot diesel gives! Always remember my first journey in a E320 cdi, it was my first "fast" diesel and it was awesome, been driving alot of vw/ford diesels since and jumped in a E320 cdi last year with 175k miles on the clock expecting it to be rubbish, thinking time and miles on this E haven't been kind. It still performed effortlessly like a rocketship just like how i remembered my previous one from five years prior and a quarter of the milage!
My only doubt with the 320 cdi is how expensive "a cheap runaround" could easily become, we all how fragile high pressure diesel fuel systems are which makes the E300TD a total bargin and right up my street!
Incidently i pass a E230Kompressor on my way to work everyday, i think it is on a '97 plate in silver, the front wing is made from duck tape as is the rear arches. The bumper is held on with duck tape at the back it really is in a poor state, there ARE better cars in the scrap yard! It kinda makes my mk2 mondeo runaround (with cracked bumpers) from the same era look like a mint showroom example! I wonder what the price difference was between a 97 mondeo estate and a 97 e class estate........... ?
Ideally i want a blue estate with five spoke wheels for under a grand with no rust and less that 140k miles!!
Love the sound the merc six pot makes, i am a bit of a diesel geek at heart and love the rumble a six pot diesel gives! Always remember my first journey in a E320 cdi, it was my first "fast" diesel and it was awesome, been driving alot of vw/ford diesels since and jumped in a E320 cdi last year with 175k miles on the clock expecting it to be rubbish, thinking time and miles on this E haven't been kind. It still performed effortlessly like a rocketship just like how i remembered my previous one from five years prior and a quarter of the milage!
My only doubt with the 320 cdi is how expensive "a cheap runaround" could easily become, we all how fragile high pressure diesel fuel systems are which makes the E300TD a total bargin and right up my street!
Incidently i pass a E230Kompressor on my way to work everyday, i think it is on a '97 plate in silver, the front wing is made from duck tape as is the rear arches. The bumper is held on with duck tape at the back it really is in a poor state, there ARE better cars in the scrap yard! It kinda makes my mk2 mondeo runaround (with cracked bumpers) from the same era look like a mint showroom example! I wonder what the price difference was between a 97 mondeo estate and a 97 e class estate........... ?
Why all the hatred for this shed? Its a Merc, its got an engine that'll do 300K miles easily and its under a grand....surely its not that bad. I know the W210 was a low point in Merc build quality but good ones are still nice....a W210 E55 AMG that resides near me looks epic in my eyes!!
We have an S reg one of these in estate form at work - it's done 187,000 miles and sounds ... well .... like it's done 187,000 miles but it refuses to die. It has the odd bit of rust here and there but hasn't quite achieved the shipwreck chic look sported by some examples.
It's on a hiding to nothing though as we also own a 52 reg E320 CDI which beats it in just about every way.
It's on a hiding to nothing though as we also own a 52 reg E320 CDI which beats it in just about every way.
Surely if it was going to have rust issues, they would either have surfaced by now or have been dealt with. As long as a prod with a key doesn't have you penetrating the bodywork, then it's going to be no worse than any other car of that age by now.
As for the engine, the usual twaddle by folk who can't see past the fuel it runs on - this was pretty much the pinnacle of old school oil burners before direct injection came along, even Clarkson was impressed by it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSKW6CFupeg
(PS look at those fuel prices in that clip and weep...)
As for the engine, the usual twaddle by folk who can't see past the fuel it runs on - this was pretty much the pinnacle of old school oil burners before direct injection came along, even Clarkson was impressed by it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSKW6CFupeg
(PS look at those fuel prices in that clip and weep...)
aston addict said:
Looked s
t when new, looks so worse now. A low point in Mercedes build and design. Wouldn't have one for £500 let alone a grand.
Just the sort of attitude I'd like to encourage so it keeps them nice and cheap for those of us who DO like them! t when new, looks so worse now. A low point in Mercedes build and design. Wouldn't have one for £500 let alone a grand.
Go look and see what kind of 5 series you get for under a grand.
Believe me I looked at them all and they can rust like buggery too, and have far more electronics issues, and as for the auto boxes in them......
Love my £1300 E430 that I have done 12k in a year in, and not needed anything other than an indicator stalk.
Although I do regret selling the w124 e300d estate for £800 last year
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36783305@N08/62264386...
Although I do regret selling the w124 e300d estate for £800 last year
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36783305@N08/62264386...
W210 is not the low point in Mercedes build. They rust so often look tatty but as an overall package the early W211 and W220 were by far the worst.
As a car a E320 CDI is probably a better all rounder than a E39 530d IMO and more econmical as well.
If you can find a nice one they are very good cars, sadly, most of them have now got to the neglected point.
As a car a E320 CDI is probably a better all rounder than a E39 530d IMO and more econmical as well.
If you can find a nice one they are very good cars, sadly, most of them have now got to the neglected point.
Surprised at the general hatred of these cars, admittedly not the last word in aesthetics but superb cruisers and still have great road presence:
For reference we've also had a couple of E39s and although they are the better drive (and rust less) the mercs have been more reliable and have far better auto boxes.
For reference we've also had a couple of E39s and although they are the better drive (and rust less) the mercs have been more reliable and have far better auto boxes.
I think I answered my own question on quality when I saw, parked next to each other,
V Reg W220 much like this one - similar spec etc.
H Reg 560SEC (at least that was it's badge)
The SEC was tatty - NHS green which was flatter than flat, bit of rust on the wings, chrome on the bumpers tarnished and dented, front grille broken/badge missing, wheels were rotten and interior was part-cloth (!!) and torn/tatty.
W220 was tattier in ever possible way - more rust, flatter paint, bumpers which had faded at a diff rate to the metal (silver!) - even the interior looked tattier...
Oh and the puddle of oil was under the W220 - tho they both looked to be in-use so that could be misleading
10 years between em - SEC almost twice-as-old - know which one I'd have taken anyway
V Reg W220 much like this one - similar spec etc.
H Reg 560SEC (at least that was it's badge)
The SEC was tatty - NHS green which was flatter than flat, bit of rust on the wings, chrome on the bumpers tarnished and dented, front grille broken/badge missing, wheels were rotten and interior was part-cloth (!!) and torn/tatty.
W220 was tattier in ever possible way - more rust, flatter paint, bumpers which had faded at a diff rate to the metal (silver!) - even the interior looked tattier...
Oh and the puddle of oil was under the W220 - tho they both looked to be in-use so that could be misleading
10 years between em - SEC almost twice-as-old - know which one I'd have taken anyway
Here's a thought: This car and the era of poor build it heralded is largely responsible for the success of the Skoda Superb.
The main reason I would consider this would be because of long distance driving over the winter. For that, I might prefer an oil burning FWD so my money would go on a Mondeo instead. I think it'd be less likely to break and be nearly as comfortable.
[img=Duncan Bannatyne picture, etc.]
The main reason I would consider this would be because of long distance driving over the winter. For that, I might prefer an oil burning FWD so my money would go on a Mondeo instead. I think it'd be less likely to break and be nearly as comfortable.
[img=Duncan Bannatyne picture, etc.]
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